Married couples spend less on each other

An independent study by Executive Matchmaking agency, Blue Label Life, has revealed that married couples spend less money on their partner’s presents than their non-married counterparts.

The annual survey, titled ‘Buying Love’ drew 437 respondents across Australia from November 2010 to January 2011.

The survey found that the 63% respondents feel that $50.00 or less is an appropriate amount to spend on a gift for a partner they have been dating for less than a month. A further 5% of respondents felt that it was too early to buy a present when dating under a month.

For couples who have been dating for three months, a further 76% believe $50-100 is an ideal figure. For couples dating for both a year and three years, $500-1000 is the price of love for 59% and 64% of respondents respectively. Yet, for married couples, 84% respondents were only willing to spend up to $500 on a gift for their partner.

Samantha Jayne, director of Blue Label Life, said the figures can be interpreted in a number of ways.

“Most of us are guilty of getting too comfortable in our relationships,” said Ms Jayne.

“Either we care so much about our spouse that price isn’t in indication of a married couples love for one another, or over time, couples feel less need to impress their partner with these kind of gestures.

“Married couples often have more responsibilities than their non-married counterparts. From mortgages, to the cost of raising children, it makes sense to tone down spending on each other.

Men (73.4 percent) prefer to give jewellery, while women (82.9 percent) prefer to receive jewellery. In addition, women (65.1 percent) prefer to give intangible gifts like sport, concert, special event tickets or weekends/holidays away, while men (68.0 percent) prefer to receive these gifts.

“The study adds further truth to the old saying; ‘When it is a question of money, everyone is of the same religion,” said Ms Jayne.